The Bet
by Nyssane
Summary: Charlie and Lily start a bet to see who can snag the knight Aldo during the Harvest Festival. Idea came from an episode of Will and Grace.


"The Bet"

"Gimme all yer money," Elmo ordered, pointing his dagger directly at the teller's face. The teller shivered and quickly stuffed the cash into a bag for Elmo's convenience. Afterwards, she immediately lifted her hands to show her surrender. Elmo laughed and skipped over to Joaquel, who was standing triumphantly over the unconscious security guard, his giant hammer resting on his shoulder.

"This chump thought he could get the coppers on us," Joaquel grunted.

Elmo ran past his burly buddy and glanced at him, snorting with glee. Little did he know, one of the strongest Radiata Knights stood right in front of him. As he turned, he crashed right in to Natalie, who barely flinched at the young boy's collision.

"Hold it right there!" Natalie said, holding her sword in the air. "You two foul fiends have robbed your last bank! This time, the judge will be sure to sentence you to life in prison!"

"You have to catch us first!" Elmo laughed, collecting himself and his loot and scurrying off.

"Nina, chase after the younger one! Charlie, help me handle this one!" Natalie said, indicating Joaquel, who was frazzled by everything happening around him. Charlie nodded but creeped backwards, afraid of the large man. He had every intention of allowing Natalie to dispose of the criminal. Nina immediately raced after Elmo, who was slowing from exhaustion. Natalie inched closer to Joaquel, fearing that he might strike her at any moment.

"Don't do anything stupid!" she said, carefully stepping forward.

Joaquel finally realized what had happened, and swiftly swung his hammer at Natalie. The man was stronger and faster than she had anticipated, and one hit with his hammer knocked her out cold. Charlie figured the blow must've broken some of her bones. He didn't really like Natalie, so he smiled to himself, but then realized Joaquel was charging right for him.

"W-Wait a sec! I don't even have my sword ready!" Charlie shrieked, clumsily attempting to pull his sword from its sheath. He looked up only to have Joaquel bodyslam him, shooting him backwards against the door. He twitched, fortunately still conscious, but saw Joaquel hovering over him. He winced and braced himself for impact, but felt nothing. When he opened his eyes, he saw Joaquel staring at his own shoulder. Charlie's eyes drifted to Joaquel's shoulder, where blood stained his clothes and Nina's sword was jabbed through. Joaquel's blankness deteriorated as he wailed loudly, starting to cry. Nina pulled her sword from his arm, and he curled into a ball, clutching his shoulder. Charlie glanced over to see Elmo lying unconscious by the doorway, his arms handcuffed behind his back. '_Great_,' Charlie thought. '_Something else for Nina to boast about'._

In her chambers, Lily sat and twirled her hair. She was excrutiatingly bored, as usual. She had a few hours to kill before Club Vampire opened and she would meet her friends there. She heard the door swing open and couldn't muster the motivation to swivel her chair to see who it was.

"My dear Vice..." a voice said. It was warm and motherly, and Lily knew immediately that it was Iris.

"Yes, Crow?" Lily asked, sighing.

"Did you think I would not find out about your little mission that you sent Elmo and Joaquel on?"

"On the contrary, I knew you would," Lily said, planting her feet on the ground and swivelling her chair, facing her mentor. "How was it? For my first heist, I mean. I haven't seen Elmo yet, did he report to you first?"

"Elmo and Joaquel are in Radiata Prison," Iris said, crossing her arms.

"Oh...that sucks," Lily said, then began to rock the chair back and forth out of a mixture of awkwardness and boredom.

"I've taught you better," said Iris, her stern face lightening a bit. "You should have come to me, I would have helped you prepare better."

"But you want me to be your successor! How can I succeed if I can't even pull a bank heist?" Lily said, growing slightly more irritated as the conversation proceeded.

"I'm not mad, Lily," Iris said. Iris rarely called Lily by her real name, but whenever she did, Lily knew she couldn't stay mad at her. "It was actually a good plan, but Elmo and Joaquel?"

The pair began to laugh.

9 o'clock quickly approached and Club Vampire opened its doors. Lily walked into the club as she felt all eyes gaze at her. She knew women wanted to be her and men wanted to be with her. That's how the cookie crumbled. She had it all.

"Hi, Lily," Solo said, rushing up to her. "You look beautiful today!"

"Uh, thanks," Lily said, her eyes drifting over to the corner where her friends were.

"You going to dance tonight for us?" Solo asked.

"I don't think so," Lily said, tapping her foot anxiously. Once the awkward silence was over with, Solo smiled and walked away. Lily rolled her eyes and walked over to her friends.

"Why were you talking to Solo?" Morgan asked.

"Well, I'm the White Princess. I mean, I have to keep up the morale of my community," Lily responded. "Besides, at least he's not overly obnoxious like SOME people we know."

The five of them glared over at Franklin, who was chatting away with some girl that he would probably never have.

"So, guys. Guess what," Charlie said.

"What?" Miranda asked, already feeling a bit nervous about being at Club Vampire. She figured she would never feel like she belonged there, not like Lily or Morgan, or even Ursula.

"We were sent on this mish, right? And like, we had to stop those clowns from the Void Community, you probably know them, Lily. Well anyways, Natalie and I totally got our asses handed to us, while Nina came out completely unscathed. Can you believe it? I just hate her!" Charlie said, shaking his hands in the air to emphasize his hatred.

"Yeah, I kind of sent them to rob the bank," Lily said, grinning mischievously.

Charlie's mouth widened and he smacked her shoulder. "I got a bruised buttcheek because of you!"

"Are you sure it's not because of Ardoph?" Ursula laughed.

"Hey! Ardoph and I are just friends, okay!" Charlie said.

"Sure you are."

"But yeah, Iris is kind of pissed at me because I didn't have her permission to rob the bank," Lily sighed.

"You should just use your feminine charms," Charlie joked. "You do know Iris is a lezzie, right? I smell that musky cologne she wears."

"That might explain why she wants you to be her successor so badly, Lily," Ursula said, nudging Lily with her elbow. Miranda glanced at Morgan, who seemed to be staring off into space.

"What are you looking at, Morgan?" Miranda asked, turning around to see if she could see what the object of Morgan's attention was.

"N-Nothing!" Morgan said. But it was too late, Miranda had already seen Eon crouched in the corner of the club, feeding his mice.

"You're staring at that creepy guy!" Charlie gasped. "You big slut!"

"Aww, Morgan's in love! I can talk to him if you want, he is one of my subjects after all," Lily gloated.

"I am not!" Morgan blushed, looking down at her hands.

"Morgan, when was the last time you had intercourse?" Charlie asked.

"That's gross, Charlie!" Ursula said, shoving his shoulder.

"I think it's adorable," Miranda said, grabbing Morgan's hands. "You should go talk to him."

Morgan shook her head and hunched her shoulders, looking away. The others realized they had gone far enough and mentally agreed to stop teasing her. A few minutes of silence passed as each of them sipped their drinks and watched the various people hanging around the club.

Suddenly, the doors swung open and three men walked in, looking around the room awkwardly and then going to the bar to order something to drink.

"Oh. My. God," Lily said, staring at the man with spikey, light brown hair. The rest of the group turned to look, and Charlie immediately flinched.

"That's the most gorgeous man I've ever seen!" he swooned.

"Which one?" Miranda asked.

"The spikey one in the red shirt," Charlie said.

"Hey, back off, homo. He's mine!" Lily said, already beginning to salivate.

"I like the one in the blue shirt," Miranda said.

"How much you wanna bet that Spikes is gay?" Charlie asked, completely ignoring the other three girls.

"I bet you twenty dagols," Lily said.

"Deal," Charlie said, and they shook hands to seal it.

"Twenty dagols?" Ursula said. "That's boring. It should be something more...interesting. How about the loser has to do something humiliating?"

"Like what?" Morgan asked.

"I have an idea," Lily said. "If I win, you have to ask Star to the Harvest Festival...and kiss him on the lips in front of everyone!"

Charlie grimaced and shivered.

"Who's Star?" Miranda asked.

"That annoying janitor at Theater Vancoor who always wears pink. He's a total queen," Ursula said.

"Fine, fine! If I win...you have to ask...Alvin!"

"What!" Lily shrieked.

"Harsh, man," Morgan said, shaking her head.

"Hey, I really like Alvin," Miranda said. "He's nice and polite."

"He's also a fat little runt who I'm positively sure wouldn't approve of a decadent lifestyle such as Lily's, don't you agree?" Charlie leered.

"Well, I don't think he'd be too happy with it..." Miranda said.

"Fine, it's settled," Lily said, glaring competitively at her flamboyant best friend.

"Wait, it has to be fair," Ursula grinned. "How about you have to take turns to talk to him?"

Miranda reached into her pocket and pulled out a shiney multi-colored pen, slapping it onto the table. "And you have to have this in order to acknowledge him! If you're not the pen-holder, you must pretend he's not even there."

The others were surprised at Miranda's scheming, but Lily and Charlie glared at each other and nodded.

"Deal," they said in unison.

Lily immediately snatched the pen and jumped out of her chair. "Ladies first!" she said, winking at a disgruntled Charlie and skipping off to the mystery man.

"Is it me, or does it seem like we don't fit in here at all?" David asked, observing the eccentric outfits of everyone in the club.

"Yo, man, I heard this was the best place to find some Void chicks. And you know what they say about Void chicks, right?" Carlos said, nudging his friend. David rolled his eyes and refused to dignify Carlos' logic with a response.

"I got your drinks, guys," Aldo said, walking over to David and Carlos.

"Do you feel awkward about this?" David asked Aldo. "I feel naked without my suit on."

"Yeah, I agree. But we're on vacation. We can't go clonking around with our armor on," Aldo said, but glanced around the room and suddenly regretted what he had said. He couldn't see himself approaching any of these people, though they did intrigue him. Just being there and watching them seemed to perk his interests. Aldo loved to learn, and learning about the Void community was something he had never got around to.

"Hi," said Lily, walking up to the trio of boys.

"Daaaayum, girl!" Carlos piped up, drooling at the sight of the slender woman.

"My name's Lily," she said, staring directly into Aldo's eyes. He blushed and looked away for a second, then returned to look into her mysterious eyes.

"I'm Aldo. This is David and Carlos."

David smiled and nodded politely, while Carlos stared down at Lily's...goods.

"Does your friend have a staring problem?" Lily said, cocking her head to the side.

"No, not at all," Aldo said, elbowing Carlos in the back.

"Would you like to dance?" Lily asked.

"There doesn't seem to be anyone else dancing..." Aldo said, looking around the room. "But, sure!"

Lily smiled and grabbed Aldo's hand, pulling him onto the dancefloor and began to dance provocatively for him. He wasn't accustomed to Lily's exotic dancing, but watched her intently as she wiggled and maneuvered around him.

Carlos cheered at Aldo from the bar, while Charlie glared enviously at Lily.

"Slow down a bit," Aldo whispered in Lily's ear.

"Don't you like it when a girl goes fast?" Lily said, beginning to lick Aldo's neck.

"N-No...I think we should get to know each other first..." Aldo said, shivering in pleasure but regaining his senses, grabbing Lily and pulling her away.

He began dancing, swivelling his hips and shoulders. Nothing spectacular, but Lily was never impressed when a man danced. She caught on that Aldo liked his women slower, so she danced and smiled at him the entire time.

When the song was over, Aldo and Lily walked back over to Carlos and David and laughed.

"Thanks, you're a great dancer," Lily said, attempting to flatter Aldo, who blushed and grinned.

"Lucky bastard," Carlos muttered under his breath.

Later that night, Lily walked back to her room confident in her abilities to seduce Aldo. She stopped by her friends very briefly at Club Vampire before she left to give Charlie the pen, but didn't stay long at all and left to go to sleep. Making a man fall in love with her always drained her.

Charlie, on the other hand, stomped back to Radiata Castle, thoroughly upset at himself and Lily. He figured Lily would be able to snag Aldo easily because she got to go first, but he wasn't willing to give up so easily.

The next morning, Charlie woke bright and early and quickly raced into town in hopes of a glimpse of Spikes. He hadn't known the man's name at the time, as Lily seemed to leave that tidbit of information out. But he didn't care, he would find out sooner or later.

Fortunately, his search for Spikes was short. He saw the gorgeous man tying his shoelaces in the park, getting ready for a jog. Charlie immediately raced over to Spikes.

"Hi! You must be new in town, I haven't seen you before," Charlie said, smiling brightly.

Spikes frowned and shook his head. "No, I've been here for five years. It's just I wear my armor a lot. I'm Aldo, from Theater Vancoor."

Charlie thought for a moment. He didn't recognize the name, but just the fact that Spikes was a warrior made his heart flitter.

"I'm Charlie! I'm a Royal Radiata Knight, in case you couldn't tell from my armor."

Aldo laughed, "Well, I should get going for my jog. Do...you want to come with me?"

"Jog? Sure!" Charlie exclaimed. He actually hated physical labor, especially exercise, but if it meant getting hot and sweaty with such a hunk, it'd be well worth it. "Let's go for it!"

"Well...you can't go in that, can you?" Aldo said. "You'll have to take that armor off first."

Charlie melted.

"I mean, why don't you go get changed and I'll wait for you here?"

"Yessir! Definitely!" Charlie said, running back to the castle. By the time he had got changed into some workout clothes and ran back, he had already pushed himself to the limit, and he clutched onto Aldo's shoulders, gasping for air.

"You okay?" Aldo asked.

"Y-Yeah! I'm...fine!" Charlie said between breaths. Aldo laughed and helped Charlie up.

"Ready?"

"No."

"Set?"

"No."

"Go!"

The pair started to jog very slowly, and Charlie's effeminate jogging seemed to turn a few heads. Charlie wondered if the townspeople thought they were lovers, and that gave him enough energy to blow past Aldo, running faster than he'd ever ran before. Until he hit a wall and blacked out.

"Are you okay?" Charlie heard a voice say.

"Mom?" Charlie groaned. Laughter. "Who's there?"

Charlie's eyes focused and he was staring up in the eyes of spikey-haired Aldo.

"Thank God you're okay, I thought you might've been injured or something," Aldo said, sitting on the sidewalk next to Charlie.

"How long was I out?" Charlie asked.

"Only a minute or two."

"Lame," Charlie said, but felt his heart beat unusually quick.

After the jog, Charlie embarassedly scurried away back to his quarters to change. On the way, he saw Lily, to whom he gave the cold shoulder, simply tossing her the pen.

Lily smiled and figured she had already won the bet.

"Hey, handsome," she said, sneaking up behind Aldo, who was sitting on a bench and looking at the sky.

"Oh, hey...Lily, right?" Aldo grinned.

"You remembered...how sweet," Lily giggled.

"Well, it's not every day a beautiful woman throws herself at me," Aldo replied, looking back up at the sky.

"What are you looking at?"

"The clouds. It's this game my brother and I used to play. We would guess what shapes we thought the clouds were, and compare our guesses."

"I do that sometimes, too. Only I never had anyone to compare my answers with because I never knew my family," Lily sighed. She figured if she made Aldo feel pity for her, it would make it much easier to get him to kiss her.

Aldo pointed up towards the sky. "What do you think that cloud looks like?"

Lily thought for a second. She couldn't really see anything in the cloud, so she tossed out a random answer. "A pig?"

They both laughed and Aldo shook his head. "I see a beautiful bird mother protecting her nest."

"Wow, that's deep," Lily said.

"Yeah," Aldo chuckled. "My brother would never guess what my shapes were."

Lily pointed up into the sky. "What about that one?" she asked.

"Hmm, maybe a cactus waiting for the rain to come?" Aldo guessed.

"Nope! It's an ancient Goddess dancing for good cheer," Lily smirked.

They both burst into laughter. "You got me there," Aldo said. "Hey, listen, I'm supposed to meet the guys at the pub. Would you maybe...want to go out to dinner with me tonight?" He couldn't help but blush, awkwardly fiddling his fingers together while awaiting Lily's response.

"Definitely," Lily said in a sultry tone that showed neither eagerness nor apathy. She smiled and waved at Aldo as he walked off.

Later that day, Lily was sitting by the pond in Radiata square listening to music. Charlie stomped his way up to her.

"Gimme the pen!" he demanded.

"Oh, right, it's your turn. How's it going for you, by the way?" Lily asked, glancing down at her nails in an attempt to mask her excitement.

"Just fine! I had a very brisk work out session with Aldo earlier, if you know what I mean."

"You call crashing into a wall a 'work out'?" Lily laughed.

"Shut up, you! I don't see any rings on YOUR fingers, hussy!"

"All in due time, my love. All in due time."

Lily got up from the pond and proudly walked off, tossing the pen over her shoulder at Charlie. Charlie scrambled and caught it, rushing off to find his Prince Charming.

Of course, Aldo was in the library, studying new battle strategies. He was well known at Radiata for his intelligence and wisdom during combat. What he lacked in brute strength he more than compensated with his brains.

"Hi, Aldo!" Charlie whistled from afar, skipping over to Aldo, who was sitting quietly in the corner.

"Shh!" Everyone screeched, causing Charlie to spazz out.

"Sor-ry! Geez, you make one little sound!" Charlie huffed, but then pulled out the chair from Aldo's table.

"Hey, Charlie," Aldo said, smiling. Although he was a bit unnerved over Charlie's ruckus, he was also amused.

"How are you doing?" Charlie asked, resting his arm on the table and staring into the man of his dream's eyes.

"I'm good. You?"

"Great! My boss, Natalie, totally gave me the rest of the day off! She said it was because I nearly killed this skank Nina who I work with, but I know she could tell I was overworked. I mean, how was I supposed to know that Nina was allergic to grapes? It's not like I looked in her medical record and checked to see what horrific way I could murder her, ya know!"

Aldo stared blankly at Charlie, then shook his head. "Yeah, that's messed up, man."

"Sooo...whatcha reading?" Charlie flittered.

"I'm reading about fairies and magicks. Pretty cool stuff, though I could never perform any of these spells myself."

"Blah, books suck," Charlie muttered. This caused Aldo to flinch, which in turn caused Charlie to gasp.

"I love books. I don't know what I'd do without them," Aldo said, turning from Charlie to his spellbook.

"Well, I mean...books can be pretty spiff. It's just...I dunno, all those words on one page. It kinda hurts my brain, ya know?"

"Nope, can't say that I do," Aldo replied.

Charlie sighed. It was hopeless, Charlie was going to lose the bet and Lily would forever be the Queen of the Radiata Posse. But just as things seemed to be at it's lowest, Charlie noticed a book about theatre under the stack on Aldo's table.

"What's this?" Charlie asked, pulling it out from underneathe a few other books. "Oh my gosh! I loooove the theatre!"

"Really?" Aldo asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Yeah! Have you seen the play that was on a few weeks ago? The play about the man who has rabies!"

"Yes, I did! Aw, man, that was one of my favorite productions that Radiata Theatre has had!" Aldo said, his voice filling with emotion that was normally unnoticable.

"Yeah, it was great!" Charlie said, rubbing his hands together as he thought of various ways to snag Aldo.

Meanwhile, Lily was busy preparing herself for the hottest date she has ever had. The men of Radiata simply bored her, but Aldo seemed to have it all – looks, brains, and a real down-to-earth attitude that immediately won her over. It took her hours to get ready. She just couldn't find the right outfit to wear. Taking in to account the fact that Aldo didn't like easy chicks, Lily was able to whip a dress up that said "I'm a charming, classy girl who isn't afraid to be sexy." It was perfect.

That night, Aldo waited outside of Yuri's bar until he noticed a beautiful specimen of woman heading his way.

"Wow, you look...stunning," Aldo said.

"Thanks, handsome," Lily said, smiling seductively.

The pair walked into the restaurant and Yuri found them a table.

"Can I get you two anything to drink to start off with?" Yuri asked, cheerfully.

"I'll have a dry gin martini on the rocks with three olives, thank you," Lily ordered.

"Um…I'll have a coke," Aldo said.

Lily, confused, looked away from Aldo. Why was he only ordering a coke? What does he think of her ordering an actual drink? Why is she getting so nervous all of a sudden? It was perplexing – rarely did Lily ever feel anxiety.

"So, did you have fun with your friends earlier?" Lily asked, a slight tremble in her voice. It was faint, barely noticable.

"Yeah, it was pretty nice. Carlos is a real character, you know? I hope you don't take offense to anything he says."

"No, not at all. Besides, you have enough style and tact to make up for his lack thereof," Lily said, inching closer to Aldo.

"Here you go," said Yuri, delivering their drinks and walking off to serve another customer.

"Cheers," Aldo said, holding his glass of coke up.

"Cheers," Lily said. As she took a sip of her drink, she realized it might not have been such a bad idea to order hard liquor. She could already feel her nerves settling.

An hour and four drinks later, Lily was laughing like a crazed maniac at every word from Aldo's mouth. Aldo, embarassed and shocked that she could do something like this, took the initiative and decided to end their date a little early.

"Wh-why?" Lily asked. "We still gotta go to that Vampire Club…Club Vampire!"

"Lily, I think you should go home and get some rest," Aldo said.

"I dun' wanna!" Lily said, suddenly lurching over and throwing up her entire meal. Aldo frowned and rubbed her back as she crouched down.

Spying on them the entire date, Charlie felt crushed as he witnessed Aldo supporting Lily up, seemingly groping her at times. He moped back to his room in Radiata Castle, while Aldo led a stumbling Lily back to her house.

"Can I get a good night kiss?" Lily mumbled.

"I think you should go to sleep," Aldo said.

"W-Why don't you like me?" Lily asked, feeling the after-affects of her drunken stupor. Her eyes filled with tears as she became the sad drunk she so often feared.

"Lily, please go to sleep now. If you want to talk to me, talk to me tomorrow," Aldo said, walking away from her doorway and never looking back.

Lily sniffled and went into her room, immediately passing out as she hit the bed.

The next day, bright and early, Ursula entered the room of a very bitter Charlie, who had awoken with a broken heart and a tear-drenched pillow.

"Look at you! You're a mess!" Ursula said, hands on her hips.

"I can't help it. I lost the only man I've ever loved."

"Charlie, you don't even know the guy! Besides, wasn't it just a bet to begin with? I don't see why you've invested so much time and thought into this."

Then, it came to him. A sudden epiphany jolted Charlie out of his bed as he embraced Ursula in his arms.

"Oh, Ursula, you are magnificent! You absolutely must help me!"

"What!"

"I just thought of a perfect way to win this bet _and_ the love of Aldo!"

"And what might that be?"

Half an hour later, Ursula was conjuring up a love potion that would be sure to win over Aldo's heart. She couldn't help but feel a smidge guilty, but she liked Charlie a hell of a lot more than she liked Lily, and salivated at the thought of a doofus like Charlie winning the bet. She also never concocted a love potion before, though she knew she was the only one in the town to have any experience dabbling in the ingredients for one, other than the mysterious Claudia, who never really spoke to anyone anyway.

"Now remember, this vial is very small but Aldo must drink the entire dose or the spell won't be nearly as effective," Ursula said. She rubbed her hands together mischievously and watched as Charlie scurried off merrily.

Meanwhile, Lily groaned in agony, stumbling over to Yuri's restaurant to meet Miranda for lunch. Her head was killing her, and she'd regretted making plans with her friend a few days prior. But, never one to go back on her plans, Lily's hangover had to take a backseat to dining with Miranda.

"You look like death! What happened?" Miranda asked, genuinely concerned about Lily.

"I had a date last night," Lily sighed.

"Must've been real wild," Miranda laughed. "Was it with Aldo?"

"Of course. I'm going to beat Charlie, damnit! But…I can't for the life of me remember what happened."

"Maybe he slipped you a mickey," Miranda gasped.

"He didn't slip me a mickey."

"Roofies?"

"Miranda!" Lily exclaimed, then clutched her head.

"Well, whatever happened, you certainly don't look yourself," Miranda said.

"Yeah, I know. I remember…drinking a lot of gin," Lily pondered, then realized her folley. "Crap, I got drunk and made a fool of myself."

"Oh, no."

"He must think I'm a total wino."

Lily let her head slip out of her hands and slam on the table in front of her.

"I'm sure he doesn't think that. Just talk to him, straighten things out," Miranda said, cheerfully rubbing Lily's head for her.

"I doubt it. Charlie's won, I might as well give up."

"Lillian!" Miranda said, halting her head-massaging and instead slapping her on the back. "This is not you at all! The Lily I know would never give up!"

"But—"

"No buts! You march on out there and talk to that boy right this second!"

Surprised by the sudden burst of assertiveness coming from the meek and accomodating Miranda, Lily quickly stood up and marched out the door, fully intending to rectify the situation with Aldo.

Seconds later, Lily returned and flopped back down onto her chair.

"Charlie has the pen," Lily sighed.

Charlie couldn't find Aldo anywhere. Then, it hit him that Aldo must be training at Theater Vancoor. Charlie rushed over immediately, but was stopped by Carlos.

"Hey, dude! You're, uh, Aldo's friend, right! I'm Carlos, nice to meetcha!" Carlos said.

"Uh…hi. I'm Charlie," Charlie said, shaking Carlos' hand weakly.

"Haha, that's so AWESOME! You're Charles, I'm Carlos, we could be twins, ya know? Same name. Or at least similar enough!" Carlos chuckled.

Charlie twitched. "Have you seen Al—"

"Man, I'm so thirsty. Whatcha got there in yer hands?" Carlos snatched the vial from Charlie's clutching hands and before Charlie could realize it, downed it all.

"Umm, that—"

"Man, that hit the spot!" Carlos said. He looked at Charlie and paused.

"Woah, um…I hope this doesn't sound forward or nothin', but…you got the goods, baby!"

Charlie was both furious and saddened, and ran as quickly as he could away from the now enamored Carlos.

Hearing the ruckus of Carlos' love calls, Aldo, David, and Gareth walked out to see what was going on.

"It's great, you guys! I'm in LOVE!" Carlos exclaimed.

"With who?" David asked.

"You guys know Charlie, the Radiata Knight?"

"What…the…" David said, obviously creeped out by the situation.

"I'm not surprised," Gareth said, rolling his eyes and walking back inside.

"Ch-Charlie…? Why the sudden infatuation with him?" Aldo asked.

"He's so perfect in every way! Exactly what I wanted in another person, you know!" Carlos said, sighing blissfully.

"Hmm," said Aldo, pausing for a moment and then going back to join David and Gareth in their training.

"Give me the pen," Lily said, holding her hand out as she saw Charlie walk by.

"What? No way! I didn't talk to Aldo yet!" Charlie shrieked.

"You talked to his friend Carlos, which is indirectly speaking to or acknowledging Aldo," Lily barked. "Now give it to me!"

"FINE! Take it!" Charlie screamed, throwing the pen at her and stomping off.

Lily smiled to herself and snatched the pen.

"Hi, Aldo," Lily said quietly, walking up from behind him as he sat on the same bench he always sits.

"Oh, hey, Lily," Aldo said, looking up from his book to see her.

"Mind if I sit down?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Thanks."

After an awkward silence, Lily sighed and started up: "Look, about last night. I'm really sorry I drank so much. It's just, I feel very uncomfortable around dates. Especially with guys that…you know, I really find attractive. I guess the alcohol just…lessens the fear of rejection."

Aldo smiled and closed his book.

"Do you drink often?" he asked.

"No, not really. I mean, not to that extent anyway," Lily responded.

"Good."

"So…we're cool?"

"Yeah, totally cool," Aldo laughed.

"Cool," Lily smirked.

Charlie curled up in a ball on the edge of Ursula's bed. "He hates me," he said, crying profusely.

"He doesn't hate you," Ursula sighed, slightly annoyed.

"He does! And I'm going to have to marry that damn Carlos!"

"Well, Carlos is kinda cute," Ursula said, attempting to make her friend feel better.

"Carlos can suck it!" Charlie bawled.

"He probably wants to, I put a generous amount of potion in that vial. But, that's beside the point. If you really want Aldo to like you, why not do things the _old fashioned way_? You say he likes theatre, so do you. With that common interest, you're sure to find other things in common," Ursula said.

"You're right…I'll invite him to that new play Those We Left Behind!"

Later, Charlie grabbed the pen from Lily and met up with Aldo and his friends, Gareth and David, at Carl's Pub. Aldo was sitting at a table, reading from one of his books, while David and Gareth were up at the bar, chatting away with a random girl that Charlie never met before.

"Hi, Aldo!" Charlie said, flopping down onto the chair next to him. Aldo smiled brightly and nodded in acknowledgment.

"How are you, Charlie?" he asked.

"I'm okay, I guess. How about you?"

"I'm just dandy," Aldo smirked, then frowned suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Charlie asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just…stuff at Theater Vancoor, I guess."

Aldo took a sip of his drink – coke or something – and looked down at his book. Charlie was confused, wishing to just blurt out and ask him to the play, but he held himself back for some reason.

"So…Carlos really likes you, you know?" Aldo asked, continuing to stare at his book.

"Yeah, well…I'm not interested in Carlos," Charlie said, his annoyance showing through.

"Really? Why not? I thought you'd be real into him," Aldo said, his voice slightly less burdened.

"No way! He's totally obnoxious and has no class at all! Definitely not my type!" Charlie said. "So, what are you reading this time?"

"I'm reading about an ancient artifact found in the plains to the north. Pretty deep stuff," Aldo replied.

"Yeah, right, so anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to maybe…I dunno, go see the new play going on in the square? I mean, it just started a few days ago and all my friends have already seen it."

Aldo smiled, looking up from his book at Charlie. "Sure, that sounds like fun," he said.

"Great! It starts tonight at six!" Charlie said, getting up from the table and heading for the door.

"Awesome, I'll see you there!" Aldo said.

"Trying to move in on Carlos' man?" David laughed, sitting down where Charlie had sat before after having no luck with the girl at the bar.

As he went to return the pen to Lily, Charlie stopped and realized that he was being a horrible best friend to her. He knew he had to settle things with her, now that he was in the lead and Aldo liked him more.

"Hi, Lily," Charlie said, noticing Lily standing by the entrance to the Black Town of Night and Lust, talking with Alba.

"Watch it, pretty boy. The White Princess has no desire to speak with you!" Alba threatened.

Charlie was taken aback. "You hired a bodyguard! Lily, this is getting way out of hand!"

"Give us the pen and be on your way!" Alba commanded.

SMACK!

Charlie smacked Alba across the face, furious that his supposed best friend could do something like this. Hiring someone so she didn't have to speak to him? How dare she? Charlie smiled contently, satisfied that he got to take his anger out on someone.

Meanwhile, Alba was red with rage. He normally didn't hit women, and even though Charlie was _so_ close to being one, Alba figured he'd go back on his morals just once. His fists clenched, he was ready to swing until Lily stopped him.

"Alba, you can go," Lily sighed.

"B-But--!"

"Leave us!"

"Yes, my lady…" Alba huffed, walking away.

"Lily, why are we fighting like this? We're best friends!"

"I know, Charlie. I guess…it's just…I want to win this bet so badly. I'm just letting it get to me, ya know?"

"Yeah, I know. Here's the pen. Good luck to you," Charlie said, smiling amiably.

"You, too," Lily said, winking at her best friend.

"Because you know, it doesn't even matter who wins or who loses. There's a great guy out there and I'd be happy for you if you won his heart," Charlie said.

"I'd be happy for you, too!" Lily agreed.

Charlie turned and smiled evily, surprised that Lily took his bait so easily. She thinks she can get Aldo's love? What a dumb skank.

Lily, too, was scheming. She couldn't wait for Charlie to lose the bet and have to go to the Harvest Festival with Star, the most notorious joke of all of Radiata. What a delicious sight to see. Since she was on such good terms with Aldo, she figured she'd let him get a glimpse of the real her.

As Lily met up with Aldo, they laughed and they chatted away, talking about unimportant matters that really nobody cared about, especially not Lily. But they seemed to interest Aldo, so it made them a tiny bit fascinating for her. They continued to talk until they came up to Morgan and Jill.

"You're such a fat hog!" Morgan shrieked, trying her best to act as an evil bitch. It was failing of course, but Morgan was proud of her acting abilities nonetheless.

"Morgan, I'm sorry! I didn't know that last jelly donut was yours, I swear!" Jill said, doing a much better acting job than Morgan. "If I had known, I never would've eaten it!"

"Shut up, you! You're so fat and…big! You make me SICK!" Morgan said, pushing Jill to the ground and scurrying off awkwardly.

Jill was crying, and Lily immediately ran over to her. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I-I'm fine…" Jill said, pretending to be ashamed as best as she could.

"Wasn't that your friend!" Aldo asked, quite upset with the event that just occurred.

"Yeah, I don't know what got into her!" Lily said.

"The beast has! She's been possessed by the demon of—" Jill started, her acting getting the best of her.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. So, Aldo, where do you want to go for lunch?" Lily asked.

"What? Lunch? Lily, this poor girl has just been abused beyond comprehension!"

"I'm older than you," Jill said.

"Don't ever let anyone use fat as an insult," Aldo said. "I used to be a bit chubby, so I know how it feels."

Lily began sobbing. "I…I used to be fat, too!" she cried.

"What?" Aldo and Jill asked in unison.

"It's true!"

Ten minutes later, the three of them were sitting in Lily's room looking at old photographs.

"I always thought that since my parents left me, there must've been a reason. So, I ate food to comfort me, you know? If I was this ugly, hideous daughter that they couldn't stand, might as well live up to it?" Lily confessed, showing Aldo a picture of her when she was at the very plump age of six.

"Oh, Lily, I don't know what to say…" Aldo said, hugging Lily as he tried to calm her tears.

Lily had never showed anyone those pictures and was shocked that she was opening herself up so much for this one guy. It was just a bet, after all. But, she couldn't help but feel a weight lifted off of her. It felt nice being able to tell someone something that wasn't in her core group of friends. They'd just laugh at her or make fun of her, anyway. And that was something she just couldn't stand. Her pride was filled to the brim and she often put herself on a pedestal. Here was someone that actually knew the real her.

"Wow, you WERE fat!" Jill said.

"Why are you even here?"

As six o'clock rolled along, Charlie stood patiently by the entrance to the stage. Tapping his foot, he couldn't help but feel as though Aldo was going to cancel it. Maybe Lily had finally sunk her teeth into Aldo's poor man-flesh? He knew he couldn't let that happen. To go to the Harvest Festival, which was approaching in two days, with Star of all people. Well, it just couldn't be had.

Finally, Aldo approached, that smile on his face as usual.

"Sorry I'm late," Aldo said.

"Oh, it's no bother at all," Charlie swooned. He noticed Aldo dressed up for the occasion, which he liked very much.

The show itself was bland and Charlie really had no intention of watching it. Instead, he gazed into Aldo's passion-filled eyes. Unfortunately, Aldo never took his eyes off of the show to gaze into his own.

"Why did you leave me, Delina? Why!" Jill cried, clutching on to the sprawled-out body of Rachel. As the two lead actresses in the play, Jill and Rachel had their work cut out for them.

Aldo immediately recognized Jill and wriggled his brow.

The show's climax approached and Charlie knew it. He was thankful, as the show had been nothing but talk for him.

"I…I loved you, Delina! Do you hear me!" Jill said, raising her arms in the air. "You were the only woman I ever loved! And you're gone…Why did you have to kill yourself? I know I wasn't the woman you wanted! I know you didn't want to settle for me! But…I could have given you everything!"

Charlie, actually beginning to pay attention to the stage, suddenly burst into tears. He often thought what it would be like if he had committed suicide – if anybody would care.

Aldo looked over and noticed this lump of tear-filled mess and rubbed his back.

After the play was over, Charlie continued to cry and Aldo walked with him back to the castle.

"That was such a beautiful play," Charlie said, wiping his tears from his face.

"Yeah, it was. I'm really glad we went," Aldo said, fiddling with his fingers.

Charlie figured that now would be the perfect time to invite Aldo to the Harvest Festival. If he said yes, he'd presumably win the bet and not have to ask Star.

"Um, so are you going to the Harvest Festival?"

"Yeah, Gareth, Carlos, David, and I are all going. Are you?"

"Yep!" Charlie said, peppy with energy again.

"Great! I'll see you there, then?"

"Yeah," Charlie smiled, gently leaning forward to go in for a kiss.

"Okay, well, bye!" Aldo said, nervously walking off.

"Uh…bye."

Even though Lily had the pen the next day, she felt she should take a break and play hard to get with Aldo. This also meant Charlie couldn't see or speak to him.

"You do realize that the Harvest Festival is tomorrow, right?" Morgan asked, throwing a rock into the pond.

Lily was playing with her hair. "Yeah, I know. But, I suppose we'll just have to change the rules a little bit."

Later that night, the entire gang went to Club Vampire as they normally did on Saturday nights.

"So, I've come to the conclusion," Lily said, staring directly at Charlie.

"Yesss?"

"Since the Harvest Festival is tomorrow, I think we should alter the rules to accommodate our rapidly approaching date. Whoever is able to get kissed by Aldo tomorrow must grab their pre-selected loser and make out with them right then and there in front of everyone. So that means if I win, Charlie makes out with Star. If I lose, I make out with Alvin. Sound like a plan?"

"You're on!" Charlie said.

"Great, now let's have a martini to celebrate," Lily said, waving Franklin over. "Franky, honey, be a dear and get us five gin martinis."

"Sure thing, babe. Maybe later I can get a martini of my own. A _love_ martini!" Franklin said, laughing confidently and walking over to the bar.

"God, what a moron," Ursula said. "If he wasn't in the Vareth Institute with me, I would've chemically castrated him a long time ago."

"There's your loverboy," Charlie said, indicating Eon, who was on the floor feeding his mice once again.

"He's so creepy," Ursula shivered.

"He's not my loverboy anyway!" Morgan said, huffing.

"I think you two would make an absolutely adorable couple," Miranda said.

"Wow, wouldn't that be gruesome, though? Eon's creepy ninja outfit and Morgan's witch clothes? What a match!" Charlie laughed.

Without anyone noticing, Lily motioned for Eon to come over to their table. He did as he was told. After all, he had to obey the White Princess.

"Eon, isn't your band playing tomorrow at the Harvest Festival?" Lily asked.

"Yes," Eon replied.

"Excellent, that should prove to be very entertaining," Lily smirked.

After a short pause, Eon nodded and walked off.

"Morgan! I gave you ample opportunity to speak to him!" Lily sighed.

"I-I'm not—" Morgan said.

"Morgan, what's your big problem? If you want to get a man, all you gotta do is ask!" Charlie said. "Watch!"

Charlie strutted his stuff over to Cosmo, who was sitting uncomfortably by himself at a different table.

"Hey, hot stuff! Let's make out!" Charlie commanded.

"W-What?" Cosmo asked, obviously confused.

"I said make out with me, bitch!" Charlie said, cracking a whip which he pulled out of who knows where.

Cosmo frightenedly moved forward to kiss Charlie but Charlie laughed and went back to the girls at the table.

"See? It's easy! You try."

"O…Okay," Morgan said, grabbing Charlie's whip.

"But don't try Eon just yet. You need some practice first, y'know?" Charlie said. Morgan nodded and walked over to the closest guy she could find – Patrick.

"Hey…um, bitch!" Morgan said, trying to crack the whip but failing miserably. "Make out with me…now!"

"She couldn't have picked someone a little bit more attractive?" Charlie sighed.

Patrick snarled. "You cruisin' for a bruisin', girlie?" he said.

"Um, n-no…I just want you to…LICK MY BOOTS, BITCH!" Morgan said, kicking Patrick in the face. As he fell to the ground, she slammed her heels onto his face, forcing his tongue onto her boots.

"Holy, she's a quick learner," Charlie said, his jaw dropped.

"Aw, see this? I miss this!" Miranda said.

"What, Morgan's bipolar behavior?" Lily asked.

"No! Us just being here together, having fun!" Miranda said.

"It's true. Things just haven't been the same between us since that bet," Ursula chimed in.

"I know…" Charlie said. He honestly did miss the way things were before the stupid bet ever came up. But, the thought of Lily kissing Alvin pushed all other thoughts away and he smiled to himself.

"Well, after the bet is over, things will obviously return to normal," Lily said.

"Let's hope so," said Miranda, glancing back over at Morgan, who was stuffing her shoe down Patrick's throat.

The Harvest Festival approached the next day, and bright and early the friends woke up to get ready for the events. Radiata was known for it's Harvest Festival, which is considered one heck of a party. Lily and Charlie agreed to get rid of the pen and have the ability to talk to Aldo at any time.

Lily was planning on impressing Aldo beyond belief, wearing the most sultry outfit she could find. Charlie, on the other hand, went for a more sophisticated look.

Both of them were some of the first few to enter the square where the Festival took place.

"Pfft, the band's not even set up yet," Lily sighed. "We're really early."

"Wait, how is the band going to even play? We locked Elmo and Joaquel up for good!" Charlie said.

"Oh, we busted them out days ago," Lily replied.

"What! You know, as a Royal Knight of Radiata, I can't allow— haha I can't even say that with a straight face," Charlie laughed.

"Hey, guys!" Miranda said, waving to the pair and running over. She pointed towards Alvin, who was chatting with Clive. "I told him about the bet, he's stoked!"

"Miranda! How could you!" Lily asked.

"Well, I figured Charlie would win…he can turn any man into a…you know, ho-mo-sex-ual," Miranda said.

The other two shook their heads at Miranda's naivity.

As everyone started arriving to the Festival, the party really got started. However, Lily nor Charlie could find Aldo anywhere. What they did find instead shocked them beyond belief.

"Hi, everyone," Morgan said, arriving at last. She pulled on a leash which led to a very leather-clad Patrick, a gag in his mouth. He merely waved at the friends, which caused Morgan to whip him harshly. "I said don't even acknowledge their presence, hound!"

"Um, what about Eon?" Ursula asked.

"What about him? He had his chance to be with this sexual goddess, but he missed it!" Morgan said. She strutted off with Patrick in tow.

"Wait, I think I see Aldo!" Charlie shrieked, then shoved everyone down to get to him. He succeeded, until…

"HEY, YOU SEXY BOY!" Carlos shouted, tackling Charlie to the ground and grinding his hips into him. Charlie screamed and pushed Carlos off of himself.

"You lunatic!" Charlie screeched.

"I can't help myself! I need your lovin'! GIVE IT TO ME, DUDE!" Carlos commanded, chasing Charlie until he bashed into Aldo.

"Carlos, I think you should go home," Aldo said.

"W-What? Why!" Carlos asked.

"You're not acting yourself. You need to go," Aldo commanded, pointing towards Theater Vancoor. Carlos walked off like an ashamed dog, tail between his legs.

"That dude is something else," David said.

"Are you okay?" Aldo asked, brushing the dirt off of Charlie.

"Y-Yeah…I'm okay. Thanks to you," Charlie said, eternally swooning from that moment. He could've died then and there and he would've had a smile on his face the whole time.

"Aldo!" Lily said, rushing over to him. "I'm so glad you came!"

"Thanks, Lily! I'm glad I came, too," Aldo laughed. Lily purposely hugged Aldo in front of Charlie. Aldo's eyes bugged out as he noticed Lily's vuloptuous breasts pressing into his chest. He coughed and ended the hug, shifting uncomfortably in his pants.

"Now that we've known each other for a while, Aldo, I was thinking we could consumate our relationship with…a kiss," Lily whispered. She knew this was probably not the best way to win the bet, but she was desperate! She had to do something to ensure her pride. Kissing Alvin would be social suicide!

Lily gently pressed her lips against Aldo's. Charlie's jaw immediately dropped at Lily's boldness. Aldo pulled back and looked away.

"I-I don't think we should—" Aldo began.

"I won!" Lily said, pointing at Charlie. "I won and you lost!"

"Won?" Aldo asked quietly.

"You _bitch_! That's soooo cheating!" Charlie said, smacking Lily fiercely on the cheek. The crowd that had gathered around gasped and the band stopped playing. As loyal deciphals of the Void Community, the band members were fully prepared to battle Charlie.

"You're the BITCH!" Lily shrieked, punching Charlie in the gut.

"No, you are!" said Charlie, returning Lily's blow with a kick to her knees.

"YOU!" Lily said, tackling Charlie down and pulling at his hair.

David and Gareth, who had been sipping from their drinks the entire time, weren't shocked at all by everything going on. Something always happened every year. Last year, it was drunk Jarvis who went streaking across the town and ended up in jail for a few days. This was really nothing but a catfight between an enraged spoiled brat and a jealous gay dude.

Aldo stood there blank-faced, both in confusion and realization. "Was this…just a game?" he asked softly. Lily and Charlie ended their wrestling match and looked up at him.

"N-No! I really, really like you!" Lily said pleadingly.

"I like you, too!" Charlie said.

They both got up from the ground and brushed themselves off, walking on either side of Aldo and grabbing an arm.

"He's mine!" Charlie said, tugging on his right arm.

"No, mine!" Lily shrieked, tugging on his left arm.

"I'm neither of yours!" Aldo exclaimed, pulling his arm free of the both of them and walking forward. "I…I'm not going to be fought over like a slab of meat!"

"I'm sorry," Lily sighed. "I know I'm a bit forward and I drink too much, but you really make me want to be a better person! I never showed anyone those pictures before…"

"And, I know I might be totally out of my league in thinking you might ever return the feelings I have towards you," Charlie admitted. "Hell, nobody ever has…"

Aldo sighed and looked down. "You two are great people, I'm sure you'll find someone one day," he said, running off with tears in his eyes. Lily and Charlie looked at each other and frowned.

"All this over a stupid bet," Charlie groaned.

"Yeah, we just hurt a really great guy, not to mention our friendship."

"I'm sorry, Lily. I didn't realize he made you feel so good," Charlie said.

"I'm sorry, too. Next time, I'll let you get the guy," Lily smiled.

"Let me!" Charlie gasped.

The friends began laughing, and the band started up again. The Harvest Festival returned to normal, as did Lily's and Charlie's friendship.

Meanwhile, sobbing in the men's room of Theater Vancoor, Aldo was perplexed and ashamed of himself for investing so much of his heart into two people.

There was a knock at the door. "Occupied," Aldo sniffled.

"Aldo?" a voice asked.

"W-Who is it?"

The door slammed open. "MAKE OUT WITH ME, BITCH!" Charlie commanded, cracking his whip.

"W-What!"

"I SAID NOW, SLAVE!"

And thus, Charlie won the bet using his _old fashioned_ methods of persuasion. Lily had no clue and eventually moved on to a different man – the vice president of the Vareth Magic Institute, Cecil. She figured it would give her more political power if she were dating someone of such high rank. And Aldo…well, let's just say he's in for a world of hurt.


End file.
